Roasted Pear Salad

I found this Roasted Pear Salad in Publix Grape Magazine. It's very similar to this salad that I've been making for years.


ROASTED PEAR SALAD

Dressing:

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon honey
salt and pepper

Mix in a small jar and shake it up to mix. This dressing covers 2 side dish salads generously. (Publix says it covers 4 salads, I don't think so.........)

Salad:

Lettuce
Roasted pear slices (directions below)
Crumbled blue cheese
Pecans, chopped

Place lettuce on plates or in bowls. Top with pears, blue cheese, pecans and dressing.

Roasted Pears: Line a baking pan with foil. Place peeled and sliced pears on pan. Drizzle with a little olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix it up and spread out on pan. Bake at 425 degrees for about 25 minutes.


We had this salad with Seared Scallops and Seasoned Cheese Grits.

Indonesian Chicken

This is a recipe I found on myrecipes.com. It's kind of spicy, but very flavorful. In other words, it doesn't burn your mouth, and you can taste all the different flavors from the marinade.

INDONESIAN CHICKEN

1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 garlic cloves, minced
2-4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts

Combine first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add chicken. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Remove from marinade and grill. (That's all I can say about the grilling, Eddie is in charge of that part!)

Peach Crumb Bars

This is like a portable little peach cobbler.

PEACH CRUMB BARS

11/2 cups sugar, divided
1 teaspoon baking powder
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
zest of half a lemon
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) cold, unsalted butter cut into small pieces
1 egg
5 cups peeled, chopped peaches (about 5 peaches)
5 teaspoons cornstarch
juice of 1 lemon
pinch of nutmeg

Grease a 9 x 13 pan; set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup of the sugar, the baking powder and flour. Mix in the salt and the lemon zest, and stir together with a fork. Cut in the butter and egg with a pastry blender until the largest chunks are about pea-sized. The mixture should be crumbly without much loose flour. Spread about half of the dough mixture in an even layer over the bottom of the prepared pan and press down firmly to form the bottom crust.

In another bowl, stir together the remaining 1/2 cup sugar, cornstarch, lemon juice and nutmeg. Gently mix in the peaches with a rubber spatula until combined. Sprinkle the fruit mixture evenly over the crust. (Note: If peaches are really juicy, you may want to transfer them with a slotted spoon so you don’t have too much liquid making the bottom crust soggy.) Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the peaches.

Bake at 375 degrees for 45 - 50 minutes or until the top is slightly golden brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares and serving. Store in refrigerator.

I actually like them cold, but feel free to heat up in microwave and top with some vanilla ice cream.

Asian Pear

This is an Asian Pear and it's delicious! I highly recommend that you try one. It's shaped like an apple, tastes more like a pear, it's crispy and juicy. They must be in season right now because this one cost me 98 cents instead of the usual $1.25 to $1.89.


Also, like a pear, it's best if you peel it, the skin is a little thick.

Salad with Nectarines

I'm still finding new salad combinations for lunch, trying to love salad more than I really do.

Iceberg lettuce

Spinach

Nectarine slices

Sliced onion

Chopped pecans

Kraft Lite Raspberry Vinaigrette

The Raspberry vinaigrette was really great with the nectarine.

Mexican Jambalaya

This recipe came from Family Circle Magazine. They called it Mexican Brown Rice Caserole. I've renamed it because it reminds me alot of Jambalaya but with Mexican flavors.

The magazine suggested Aidells chicken sausage with habaneros. I used Bistro Sensations chicken sausage with habaneros and monterey jack cheese.

MEXICAN JAMBALAYA

1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced red bell pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 cup brown rice
11/2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 small jalapeño, seeded and chopped
1 package (12 ounces) chicken sausage with habaneros, cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
1 1/2 cups water
chopped cilantro
sour cream
shredded cheddar cheese

Stir together onion, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes, rice, chili powder, oregano, jalapeño, sausage and water in slow cooker bowl. Cover and cook on HIGH for 3 ½ hours or LOW for 5 hours.

Stir in cilantro; serve with sour cream and cheddar cheese, if desired.

Yield: 4 servings

French Dip Sandwich

This is a quick and simple version so that you can enjoy a French Dip sandwich at home.

I use an Au Jus seasoning packet (in the store with all the gravy, stew, chili seasoning packets). Prepare according to package directions (just mix with water and heat it).

Add thinly sliced deli roast beef to the au jus and simmer just until it's heated.

Meanwhile, slice up an onion and cook in a little olive oil until caramelized.

I like a nice firm submarine roll - toast it under the broiler a minute or two. Top both cut sides with cheese (Provolone this time, Swiss sometimes) and a little Italian seasoning, broil until cheese is melted.

Top one side of cheese coated bread with roast beef (pull out of Au Jus with tongs) and then caramelized onions. Top with other piece of cheese coated bread. Pour extra Au Jus into cups for dipping.

The packet of Au Jus makes enough for about 6 sandwiches. I like about 1/4 pound of meat per sandwich.

Cute!

Eddie and Ashley... awwwww.



Woodrow on my legs. So sleepy!

Asian Chicken Salad

No real recipe here, just a combination of ingredients that I use to make an Asian style chicken salad.

Lettuce
Cucumber
Red bell pepper
Green onion
Pineapple tidbits (canned)
Mandarin oranges (canned)
Cashews
Chicken marinated in Teriyaki sauce and grilled
Dressing made by combining Ginger dressing and Poppyseed dressing (see below, doesn't have to be citrus poppyseed, regular/plain poppyseed is actually my usual for this)

Bourbon Chicken

This is based on a recipe that I found at Food.com. I adjusted a little so that we'd have more sauce, you know, to give the rice some flavor, too. I suppose you can add vegetables into the meat mixture, we just had them on the side this time. This was delicious - sweet and spicy.

BOURBON CHICKEN

1 garlic clove, crushed
1/4 teaspoon fresh minced ginger

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 cup bourbon (can substitute apple juice)
1/3 cup light brown sugar
2 tablespoons ketchup
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup water

1/3 cup soy sauce

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

Mix first 9 ingredients in a bowl. Set aside.

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add chicken pieces and cook until lightly browned. Add liquid mixture, and bring to a hard boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until liquid is thick and reduced by about half.

Serve over rice.

Yield: 2 servings

Cute Food!

A sampling of cute food pictures from CuteEverything.com.